Bellaghy open league campaign with victory at Loup

Bellaghy 0-13 ... Loup 0-9 

Bellaghy opened their league campaign with a victory at Loup, producing a strong second-half display to secure the win.

Despite playing with a significant wind advantage in the first half, the Wolfe Tones struggled to make it count and went in level at the break, 0–5 apiece. However, they were the better side after the restart and fully deserved their victory. Key contributions from Luke Diamond, Damon Gallagher, and the ever-reliable Eoghan Brown proved crucial in grinding out the result.

Bellaghy made a bright start, building a 0–5 to 0–2 lead, but failed to score during the second quarter. Early on, Gallagher saw a goal chance turned around the post by Thomas Mallon, with Peter Stuart converting the resulting ’45. A strong run from Niall Bane led to a free that Ciaran Devlin converted to level the game.

Bellaghy responded well, hitting three unanswered points through Gallagher, Oisin McErlean, and Ciaran Chambers. Caolan Devlin (free) and Diamond exchanged scores before the game became scrappy, with both sides guilty of unforced errors. Bellaghy, in particular, grew panicky in possession, allowing Loup to turn them over repeatedly.

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Brown had a shot saved by Mallon, and Loup began to work their way back into the contest. Showing patience in possession, they picked gaps in the Bellaghy defence. Caolan Devlin added a free, and Ciaran Devlin followed up with a fisted point after a free dropped short.

Anthony O’Neill, who was becoming more influential, equalised to leave it 0–5 each at half-time.

Loup’s composure deserted them after the break, as they began to make errors, while Bellaghy improved significantly. Diamond led the charge, Brown was lively, and Gallagher impressed with his accuracy from placed balls into the wind.

Gallagher and Diamond opened the second-half scoring, though a two-point free from Kyle Conway brought Loup level again. Between the 40th and 46th minutes, Bellaghy took control with three consecutive points—Gallagher (free), Diamond (his third from play), and Chambers—moving them 0–10 to 0–7 ahead.

Bellaghy nearly extended their lead further when Brown turned over possession and set up Diamond, whose effort struck the crossbar. Loup responded through a fine point from Dara Joe Martin to reduce the gap to two, but they never looked capable of regaining control.

Another goal chance fell to Bellaghy, but Martin produced a goal-line block to deny Kealan Friel. Playing advantage, Gallagher added a point from the resulting free. A black card for the hardworking Lee Brady meant Bellaghy finished with 14 players, but Gallagher remained composed, converting another excellent free to stretch the lead to four.

Loup pushed for a goal late on, but Brown made a crucial block. From the advantage, Caolan Devlin pointed a free. Fittingly, Gallagher had the final say, landing his sixth point of the game to leave four between the sides at the final whistle.

Bellaghy now face Glen in their next outing, while Loup travel to take on Glenullin.

Teams & Scorers

Bellaghy: D Gallagher (0-6, 5f), L Diamond 0-3, C Chambers (0-2), O McErlean and P Stuart (45) 0-1 each 

Loup: Caolan Devlin 0-3 (f), Ciaran Devlin (1f) and K Conway (tpf) 0-2 each, A O’Neill and D J Martin 0-1 each. 

Bellaghy: Peter Stuart; Finbarr McShane, James Donnelly, James Diamond; Lee Brady, Marc McClenaghan, Ruairi McErlean; Oisin McErlean, Kealan Friel; Emmett Turner, Ciaran Chambers, Luke Diamond; Eoghan Brown, Declan Cassidy, Damon Gallagher. Subs: Dean Martin for J Diamond (40), Ciaran Brady for Turner (52)

Loup: Thomas Mallon; Peter Coleman, Matthew Rocks, Senan Lagan; Sean Rocks, Jason Rocks, Dara Joe Martin; Shea Gallagher, Torrey Cudden; Adam Canavan, Anthony O’Neill, Nicholas Cleary; Caolan Devlin, Ciaran Devlin, Niall Baine. Subs: Lyle Conway for Canavan (19), Canavan for Gallagher (50), Padraig McAlynn for Cleary (59).